15 Years of Ancestry

NEWS

The genealogy giant that is Ancestry is celebrating its 15th birthday next month by offering a series of special offers during 1st-15th October.  In their own words...

You’re invited to a 15-day celebration of your story — and ours. Visit Ancestry.com daily October 1^st – 15^th to search some of our favorite collections for free and enter for a chance to win the prize of the day in the 15 Days of Discovery Sweepstakes.


So it may be worth keeping an eye on the situation when the new month breaks.  Owt for Nowt, as they say!

Ancestry have also added a couple of new record sets to their database, namely, the 'UK Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857', and the 'UK Surgeon Superintendent's Journals of Convict Ships, 1858-1867'.  See here, where you can pick up the links to further information.

The Society of Genealogists has put out a call for folk to consider joining its 'Friends' scheme, in what looks like an attempt to keep up with the genealogical Joneses.  If this is something you'd like to consider, see the SoG's announcement, where you can find a further link which gives you all the information you need by way of a pdf document.  The range of packages is wide to say the least!

ARTICLES

A new e-friend of mine, Ros Bott, has turned out a handy guide to conducting genealogical research in her home patch of Warwickshire.

And The Telegraph's website published an article earlier this month concerning an issue which may eventually impact on us family historians, namely, the government sticking their noses into the 'commercialisation' of public data. In what many see as an attempt to cash in on the amount of data its various bodies hold, the government is all geared up to launch its 'Public Data Corporation' which will take hold of information held by the likes of the Land Registry, Ordnance Survey and The Met Office. The words 'thin', 'end' and 'wedge' come to mind. Read all about it here.

OTHER STUFF

Some FindMyPast Ireland desktop wallpapers!

ON THIS DAY

1745:  God Save the King, the National Anthem, is sung for the first time - at the Drury Lane Theatre, London;
1865:  Elizabeth Garrett Anderson becomes the UK's first practising female doctor;
1923:  Radio Times first published.